Golfing on São Miguel.
A breezy 22 degrees, a fresh breeze from the Atlantic, green in all shades, a few white clouds that make the sky appear even bluer and hydrangea blossoms as far as the eye can see - that was my very first welcome gift when I landed at Sao Miguel airport. Incidentally, with SATA Air Acores direct in four hours from MUC.
Sao Miguel is not only one of the most diverse islands in the Azores, but also offers golf enthusiasts two golf courses that could easily compete with any garden exhibition here.
Even the Batalha Golf Club's clubhouse, which is surrounded by flowers and has an English interior, shows the good taste of architect Bom Cameron, who designed the three 9-hole courses around it in a mix of links, parkland and woodland courses. And while we play on the A for "Azalea" and B course on beautiful wide fairways with azaleas and hydrangea bushes partly by the sea, partly in hilly terrain with fantastic panoramic views, the C course takes us into wooded terrain full of the scent of eucalyptus and great views as far as the sea. The ladies in particular probably enjoy the contrast between the azure blue sea and the deep green landscape. Men are more ball-oriented and focus on their score, which can sometimes disappear in the hilly fairways. Despite its fantastic layout, this par 72 course is not an easy one and is therefore also the venue for the Seniors Tour, Azores Open and annual ProAms with international participants. From the capital Ponte Delgada, it is just half an hour's drive north through many scenic highlights with vegetation ranging from tropical rainforest to conifers, which can also be found everywhere on a drive across the island. Especially on a sightseeing tour to Sete Cidades in the west of the island, where from the "Miradouro da Vista do Rei" you have a truly "royal view" of the two greenish-blue shimmering crater lakes Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde.
The Furnas Golf Course was also originally built on volcanic ground at the end of 1930 as a 9-hole course by Scottish architect Mackenzie Ross. 60 years later, nine more holes were added. Even though it appears to be a beautiful parkland course at first glance, it also has typical Scottish features and is therefore considered the most "British" of all Portuguese golf courses. I write in my golf diary: undulating fairways, doglegs between tall old trees, a wide variety of fauna - from alpine grass to bamboo by the ponds, heavily undulating greens and very cool! The course lies at 500 meters. The "signature hole", for example, is the 12th hole with a long shot through a narrow fairway surrounded by trees to a green hidden between bunkers.
This course is also located in one of the most beautiful areas of the island of Sao Miguel with fantastic views of the Furnas Valley, which is famous for its tropical vegetation, hot springs and mineral water as well as the largest and most beautiful lake on the island.
By Elsa-Maria Honecker
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